In accordance with the original Belgian Code on Corporate Governance published in 2004, the Board of Directors has, on 16 December 2005, adopted the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter. Following the publication of the 2009 Belgian Code on Corporate Governance, the Board of Directors has, on 22 December 2009, adopted the 2009 Code as the reference code for Bekaert and revised the Bekaert Corporate Governance Charter (the ‘Bekaert Charter’).

Bekaert complies in principle with the Belgian Corporate Governance Code and explains in the Bekaert Charter or in this Corporate Governance Statement why it departs from some of its provisions.